2017 Gold Rush Roundup Registration Thread!

That time has come again – time for the 2017 California Gold Rush Roundup. We will meet up again at Camp Lodestar in the little mountain hamlet of Wilseyville in the historic and picturesque Motherlode region of California.

If you haven’t been to a California Roundup like this, expect some wonderful times in a beautiful scenic location with good food, great friends, and lots of fun making music. Let me give you a sense as to how we roll at our Gold Rush Roundup.

We arrive in the afternoon on Friday, set up our gear, maybe get a few songs in as people begin to arrive, and then have dinner. But, after dinner, all bets are off and the music begins in earnest. There is no particular format to this. You simply state that you want to play and we will find a place for you. If you have a couple of songs that you want to perform, and there are others who know the songs, we will back you on them. If no one knows the songs, you have to keep digging until you land on a common denominator with the rest of the band. It is all spontaneous, extemporaneous, outrageous, contemporaneous, and righteous (okay, maybe not the last one, but I had to come up with a word that ended the same as the first four!).

Saturday begins with breakfast and then more musical merriment ensues. We will take a break at lunch, followed by more music. (Are you seeing a theme here?? There is a lot of music to be made.) And, when you are not making music, you can sit back and be entertained. Last year, Taffy put together a very nice concert of some of his tunes while others took a break. I bet that, if we twisted his arm, he might be willing to do that again. Or Scott Rust treated us to some solo playing as well. We may also try to find a location where some acoustic playing can take place.

And, of course, you can go swimming in the Camp’s large pool. Be sure to throw in a swimsuit so that you can beat the heat while taking a few laps in the pool.

Saturday early evening, we HAVE to take the group photo. We always seem to put this off until Sunday morning when some people have already left to go home. Presumably, we will have most everyone present on Saturday afternoon and evening who is going to be attending, so that is when we have to do this. Remind me of that in case I forget.

Saturday night brings the board branding event where you can burn a genuine Gretsch G-brand into a board (or your Gretsch guitar if you never intend to sell it!) upon which you will affix an appropriate Roundup proclamation. Hopefully, we will be lucky enough to prevail upon Joe to once again give us one of his latest “Joe and Fred Show” presentations (obviously, minus Fred), as well as update us on what is going on with Gretsch Guitars. Who knows? Maybe another “Ask Joe Anything” session (with appropriate ground rules, as always). And we will undoubtedly play more music.

And then Saturday night is always the “pick dropping contest”, a swagfest that Joe leads out in where lucky winners take home a piece of Gretsch swag such as a Gretsch T-shirt, picks, strings, or whatever it is that Joe brings to share with us. And, and, and ... some lucky attendees have even been known to go home with an ukulele, banjo, or guitar that Joe brought to the Roundup. The swagfest is always the grand finale for a wonderful evening of music and fun.

Sunday morning brings us breakfast once again and more opportunity to play (if you aren’t already played out from Friday and Saturday nights). And then late morning, we break camp and head home.

A better time could not be had with your clothes on!

Lodging is Camp Lodestar style where you will have a bunk in a dorm room or, if the Camp Director permits us again this year, in one of the small individual-sized cabins (perfect for couples or two to four buddies who want to bunk together). Each bunk has a mattress on it and you bring your own linens or sleeping bag. You will need to bring towels, wash cloths, and your own soap / toiletries. From what I understood last year, there was an abundance of hot water for showers. It’s rustic luxury at its finest.

You are welcome to bring alcoholic beverages to the Roundup. That being said, please be mindful of the fact that Camp Lodestar is owned and operated by a church-based organization. The Camp Director was very much okay with our imbibing in a little wine or beer last year and will certainly permit it again this year. What is not welcome is the over-consumption of alcohol which leads to loud or obnoxious behaviour. We have never had a problem with this at the Gold Rush Roundup and I am confident that there will be no such issue again this year.

You will recall that we had a problem last year with the volume of the music. The Camp Director has installed sound-absorbing baffling in the main dining hall where we play so that should go a long way towards reducing some of the echo chamber effect that we experienced last year, and which contributed to ever-increasing volumes. Please be mindful at all times of your volume when you are playing. If I or others ask you to turn your amplifier down, please do so without protest as we want everyone to be able to enjoy the event and be able to return home without ringing in their ears.

So, let this serve as the ringing of the registration bell as the time for registration has officially begun. Pricing for the event is as follows:

Individual meals may be had as follows:
Breakfast $11.00
Lunch $13.00
Dinner $15.00

You are welcome to bring a friend, whether to play music or to just meet new friends and sit and enjoy the music.

Payment should be made with PayPal. I am fairly new to PayPal, but I recall from last year that we did not have to pay any additional fees above and beyond the charges for the event. You can send me an email and I will (if I remember how to do so) send you an invoice through PayPal for which you can send your payment back. Simple as that.

We will need to get started on this sooner rather than later so that I will be able to send in the payment to Camp Lodestar next month on time. I will probably begin sending out emails to those who have previously indicated that they intend to attend the Roundup. If you haven’t received an email from me and want to attend, or if you just have any questions about the event, you can post any remarks in this thread. Or you can send me an email if you are the bashful type. The Roundup email address is CaliforniaRoundup [at] Yahoo [dot] com.

Okay, let’s plan on another great Gold Rush Roundup in 2017. I am really looking forward to this!

Hey now! Someone is watching! I was beginning to think that I was alone in an echo chamber.

For the backline, I anticipate that afm_380 will be sourcing a drum kit and bass amplifier for us. When I spoke with him a few weeks ago at Surf Camp, he mentioned that he would do that. So, unless I hear otherwise, I will plan on that. Joe, if you can't bring a bass rig, I can always bring mine. Just let me know.

I will bring a PA for the vocals. However, I only have two speakers (QSC K-10s). If my pal Johnnie comes again, I anticipate that he might be willing to bring along his QSC K-12s as the mains and we can use my K-10s as monitors. I have three mics and stands that I will bring. Again, if Johnnie comes, he will most likely bring his mic and stand.

Do we have any keyboardists that will be attending? At last word, Parabar indicated that he won't be able to attend. So, that opens it up for anyone else who plays to jump in. If you are a player, but don't have a keyboard, let me know and we will provide one.

As always, we have a perpetual need for drummers and bass players. I know that Powertronman's friend, Mark, played bass last year. I also will play. For drummers, I know that we can count on Powdog to play (even though he sandbagged us last year and didn't announce that he was a drummer until late in the event!!! LOL), but we will need another couple of drummers to make it so that one person isn't always having to play. If your band's drummer would like to spend a weekend playing music, invite him or her to join us.

If you have any special dietary needs, the Camp's staff is really good about trying to make provision for that. However, you will need to tell me in advance exactly what your needs are so that I can communicate that to the Camp Director.

Can we somehow kidnap Parabar, or would that be excessive? It won't be the same without him...and we definitely won't sound as good!

– Rhythmisking

Well, kidnapping has been frowned upon by some, so perhaps we'd best avoid that. Besides, we want Roundup'ers to want to be there rather than be forced to be there. I think that we will see Parabar back at some future Roundups. It may be necessary for us to play the room now with the sound baffling in place to see how that helps (or doesn't help) with the acoustics in the room. I have an idea that it will help quite a bit.

And you are so correct that not having Parabar there will create a large void in the music making process. That being said, maybe there are some other keyboardists who would like to step up and try to fill that void. If they don't have a keyboard, I could probably even be persuaded to bring mine. Too bad that we don't have Proteus out here for this year's Roundup as he would love to spend the weekend on the keyboard. Maybe Tavo's youngest, Liam, would like to sit in with his dad and others at the Roundup?

Hey Bob, I have a couple EV ZLX 12's Mains if you need them. They sound good to my ears and they are plenty powerful.

– Powertronman

Tom, if it is convenient for you, please bring those (along with cables to connect them, etc.). Johnnie is going to be there with his two K12s, but we will need some additional monitors to augment my two K10s. Thanks so much for offering that.

I'll miss seeing allay'all whilst playing at the Baconfest. Wonderbread 5 is also on the bill. (Isn't it ironic --- don'tcha think? A vegetarian of over 40 years performing at a festival dedicated to smoky dead pigs. Life is weird.)

I'm definitely hoping to be at future RoundUps, so here's hoping you all have a great time and don't get kicked out of the place!

I have heard from a number of Roundup’ers who are coming as couples and would like to have private housing. After inquiry, I have been informed by the Camp Director that the small cabins that we were able to use last year just below the Dining Hall will once again be made available to us. However, with only seven, they are limited in number.

I will make assignments of these cabins on a first come, first served basis when payment is made for the event. I would ask, however, that you not request a cabin just because you don’t want to sleep in a larger environment, like a dorm room. These cabins are meant to be for families. For example, we have one member who will be attending who is bringing his young daughter. Forcing her to share a dorm room with people she doesn’t know when just a youngster seems inappropriate. So, she should be able to share a cabin with her father.

If there are any cabins which have not been assigned at the time of the Roundup, I will make them available at that time, again, on a first come, first served basis, as they were requested at the time that registration fees were paid.

So, the message that should be taken from this post is that, if you want a small cabin, then get your registration fees paid and request a cabin.

I sent out an email a few days ago asking a few members to hold off on paying the attendance fees until I got stuff straightened out with PayPal. That has been accomplished. So, now, if you are intending to go to the Roundup, feel free to PayPal your fees to me. You may do that by sending the appropriate amount of fees through PayPal to my screen name [at] yahoo.com.

Well, kidnapping has been frowned upon by some, so perhaps we'd best avoid that. Besides, we want Roundup'ers to want to be there rather than be forced to be there. I think that we will see Parabar back at some future Roundups. It may be necessary for us to play the room now with the sound baffling in place to see how that helps (or doesn't help) with the acoustics in the room. I have an idea that it will help quite a bit.

And you are so correct that not having Parabar there will create a large void in the music making process. That being said, maybe there are some other keyboardists who would like to step up and try to fill that void. If they don't have a keyboard, I could probably even be persuaded to bring mine. Too bad that we don't have Proteus out here for this year's Roundup as he would love to spend the weekend on the keyboard. Maybe Tavo's youngest, Liam, would like to sit in with his dad and others at the Roundup?

Just spoke with Skip Simmons moments ago. The Stereo King is repaired and running like a champ. It's going to Jeff Earl next week so the cabinets can be finished. The whole project will be complete in time for the gathering. Also found a vintage 6149 Reverb unit to go with it.
All are welcome to plug into it and jam away !!!!!

Just spoke with Skip Simmons moments ago. The Stereo King is repaired and running like a champ. It's going to Jeff Earl next week so the cabinets can be finished. The whole project will be complete in time for the gathering. Also found a vintage 6149 Reverb unit to go with it.
All are welcome to plug into it and jam away !!!!!

– TommWilliams

Hey now, that is some news of interest. It will be interesting to check out that Stereo King.